Injuries are expected in sports. Bones break, muscles tear and people bleed. It is a fact of life. However, every once in a while, an injury occurs that causes people to take a second look.

 Kevin Ware, University of Louisville basketball player, broke his tibia in a way that caused the broken bone to protrude from the skin during a game against Duke. Ware felt “weird” right after the injury, but didn’t know why until he looked down.

 “When Coach P tried to help me up, he gave me a funny kind of look. I’m looking at him and then I look down and I see my bone sticking out. It wasn’t a hurt feeling. I just went into shock,” Ware said.

 Before Ware was taken away from the court on a stretcher, he told his teammates to keep playing, refocus on the game, and “just go and win.”

 The injury dominated social media websites with updates of well-wishes and shocked outcries.

 Fans, like junior Savannah Avera, who watched the game, were horrified. “It was the worst sports injury I’ve ever seen,” Avera said. “I really don’t do well with injuries or blood.”

 Ware was taken to the hospital, where he underwent a two hour surgery. The surgeons reset Ware’s tibia and placed a metal rod into the bone to keep it from moving out of place.

In order to downplay the severity of the situation, he called his mom because he knew “she would be worried sick.” Ware even tweeted the day after the game, “I should have blocked that shot though. Lol.”

Ware spoke to ESPN and told them that he’ll “be fine.” Due to the advanced medical technology available and quick response to his injury, Ware is said to make a full recovery as soon as six months from now.

Of course, how could Louisville be a runner-up after all that had happened? Louisville went all the way to the championship in the March Madness Tournament, where they beat Michigan 82-76.

Ware was the one to cut down the net from the hoop after the game (a tradition that has been kept by champions of all basketball leagues).

“It meant everything, honestly,” Ware said. “Not being able to play but still being able to cut down the net, that was big.”